Formed in fall 2003 and named for a lyric in the T Rex song "Get it On (Bang a Gong)", Dirty Sweet was founded by former members of Convoy, Lovelight Shine, and Jejune.
Detroit homeboy Nathan Beale (guitar) and Chris Mendez (drums) has already been longtime friends, while Ryan Koontz (vocals) came by way of Spokane, Washington.
In 2005, local-star AJ Croce (son of Jim) signed Dirty Sweet to his Seedling Records label. In May 2005, they became the first local band to headline The Casbah for three consecutive nights. Former local Joe Rinaldi, who has booked L.A.'s Viper Room, told the Reader he's been booking Dirty Sweet to open for many national acts. "We think they will go somewhere, so we're trying them on important shows."
In Summer 2006, bassist Shaun Cornell enlisted the rest of the band to aid him in the construction of his new recording studio, Blue Roof Studios. Eager to put their ideas to tape, the fivesome were cutting drum tracks in the newly completed 'Studio B' even as the paint was drying. For the next two and a half weeks, Dirty Sweet maintained a rigorous recording regimen. Out of these sessions came the 12 songs that would make up the album ...Of Monarchs and Beggars, produced and engineered by the band.
The band toured as the main support on a sold-out Jimmy Eat World tour, as well as selling out the first overseas Dirty Sweet show, at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, with them as the only band on the bill.
Recognized by NME as a Band on the Rise, the group won two 2007 San Diego Music Awards, for Best Rock and Best Rock Album. They won for Best Rock again at the 2008 SDMAs.
Their 2010 album American Spiritual was produced by Doug Boehm (Elliot Smith, Screaming Trees). Following that, it appeared the band became inactive. Ryan Koontz and Mark Murino went on to co-found Crash & the Burns. The group announced reunion plans in 2014.
With a round of summer 2017 gigs under their belts, members reportedly booked three days in a studio and recorded nine songs, now augmented by Uncle Joe's Big Ol' Driver guitarist Andrew McKeag.